The Ranch Hand
by WarblerKlaine
Summary: Blaine Anderson is a ranch hand who travels America with his best friends Wes and David looking for work. He always finds an excuse to pack up and move on, until he gets a job at Hummel's Ranch. And then he meets his new boss' son, Kurt. Glee AU: Klaine
1. Introduction

The Ranch Hand

I guess I should say that this was inspired by 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck as the idea came to me when I was reading it… However, I'm inclined to think that it isn't really as although it has a similar setting and quite a few similarities, the plot will be very different, it won't be anything like the actual book… So, I'll just say Glee AU right? That seems just about right. I just thought I'd make sure the aforementioned point was made so people don't nag me for having similarities.

Once again, I must say that, although this one will possibly be my first ongoing project, I can't promise regular updates, or even any updates at all. I'm busy and forgetful so I could go months without writing anything. I'm sorry if this disappoints you, but I won't make promises or schedules which I won't keep to. xx

**The Summary:**

**Blaine Anderson is a travelling ranch hand. Abandoned by his parents as a teenager, he's spent a lot of time alone. Along with his best (and only) friends Wes and David, he travels around Western America in search of any form of temporary work, usually on ranches or farms. However, Blaine always finds some excuse to pack up, leave and move on to his next job but secretly, all he wants is to settle down somewhere and stay put with his friends, and hopefully, one day, a boyfriend. That's just how he works, it's how he's always worked. But, when Blaine gets a job at Hummel's Ranch he finds himself happy and, for the first time, wanting to stay around for a while… and then he meets his friendly new boss, Burt Hummel's, son Kurt. **

Disclaimer – I do not own any of the characters or anything in this story apart from the storyline, and even that's partially based on 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck. Anyway, I don't own Glee, or Klaine, or even CrissColfer or 'Of Mice and Men'… Basically, I own nothing. I mean no harm to any of the books and shows creators, producers etc etc, by writing this, this is just (for me) recreational only.


	2. Chapter 1: The Job Offer

Chapter One – Job Offer

**The Summary:**

**Blaine Anderson is a travelling ranch hand. Abandoned by his parents as a teenager, he's spent a lot of time alone. Along with his best (and only) friends Wes and David, he travels around Western America in search of any form of temporary work, usually on ranches or farms. However, Blaine always finds some excuse to pack up, leave and move on to his next job but secretly, all he wants is to settle down somewhere and stay put with his friends, and hopefully, one day, a boyfriend. That's just how he works, its how he's always worked. But, when Blaine gets a job at Hummel's Ranch he finds himself happy and, for the first time, wanting to stay around for a while… and then he meets his friendly new boss, Burt Hummel's, son Kurt. **

Disclaimer – I do not own any of the characters or anything in this story apart from the storyline, and even that's partially based on 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck. Anyway, I don't own Glee, or Klaine, or even CrissColfer or 'Of Mice and Men'… Basically, I own nothing. I mean no harm to any of the books and shows creators, producers etc etc, by writing this, this is just (for me) recreational only.

* * *

Blaine fell down into the warm comfort of the grass with a soft 'oof'. His eyes drifted shut as the warm sun washed over his body for the first time in what seemed like months but in reality had only been a few weeks. This grass was much more comfortable than his last bed. Resisting the urge to yawn, knowing it would only make him feel more tired; he lifted a coarse hand and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, brushing aside one un-tameable curl as he did so.

However, his moment of complete relaxation was put to a sudden stop as a loud splash rang out from behind him – the kind only made when water comes in contact with something big. Rolling his eyes, Blaine craned his head backwards, and sure enough, through the canopy of leaves, Blaine could see Wes holding his sides in as he laughed at something, the lower half of his denim pants soaked.

Although wanting to ignore his friends' childish stunts, he knew better, and pulled himself back up to his feet. They couldn't stay here long anyway, no matter how gorgeous it was. Blaine was sure he'd never seen anything as beautiful as this small patch of hidden land, the long grass and drooping leaves swaying gently in the breeze – the gentle sort which only ever accompanied a warm summers day. He'd only seen pictures like this before, where if you looked towards the sun, all you'd see was the leaves lit up a brighter green as the sun shone through them, because there was a solid wall of green. The water was nice too, warm and still, and clear through all the way to the bottom. Blaine was sure this place was what heaven would look like. But yet, once again, the moment was ruined, as another massive splash, this one big enough to spray some water droplets over to Blaine, sounded out.

"Seriously guys, stop mucking about, we don't have time for this. We're wanted at the recruitment centre before noon!" his voice expressed his exasperation, as he pushed a leaf out of the way and looked up; the sun was already nearing its noon position. Wes and David at least had the decency to look abashed.

"We're sorry Blaine, it's just… We haven't had any time to just, relax, you know?" And there it was, that pleading look, the same one they used every time they tried to get Blaine to stick around in one place for an extended period of time.

"I know, but you know how I feel about sticking around." Okay, maybe that came out with a little too much force, "If I find a place I want to stay, then I will, if I don't then I'm keeping moving. But you can stop complaining about it, because if you hate the way we work, then leave and figure out your own way to live." As their faces dropped, Blaine felt bad for snapping. He sighed.

"Look guys, I'm sorry, but this is the way I work. I don't want to change things. And we need to hurry up or we won't get this job, and then we'll go hungry and one thing I never want to see is you two when you're hungry." He smirked, "you're bad enough as it is."

He ignored the series of insulted yells that resulted from behind him, instead deciding to walk on.

Only a minute or so later did he hear footsteps behind him, and soft sighs.

A hand clasped his shoulder briefly,

"We get it man."

A smile slipped its way across Blaine's face for a moment, before his face returned back to its emotionless expression. Wes and David, however, did not miss the flicker of emotion and sent each other knowing looks.

The three men kept walking as the sun lazily dragged itself along the sky. Animals crossed their paths, skittering away as their noisy footsteps interrupted the small patch of heaven which they'd found but had to leave. As they neared a pathway, Blaine turned back for a moment.

"If we… If we get the chance, maybe I'd like to come back here sometime." Blaine whispered. The sound, which would normally go unnoticed, was undisturbed by the lack of commotion and was heard by his friends, though they had to strain to hear it. Wes and David turned to look at each other, eyes meeting and both thinking the same thing.

_Why did that sound like a promise?_

Blaine either didn't notice the exchange, or decided to ignore it, because with that he turned and walked on, leaving behind the one piece of calm he'd had in a long time.

* * *

It didn't take as long as expected to reach the recruitment centre in Fremont. What Blaine had thought would take hours only took one and a half, and by the time they reached the centre, it was miraculously still open.

This turn of events had put Blaine in quite a good mood, which didn't happen often. It meant they wouldn't have to camp out in the cold tonight, and could instead put the little money they had into staying in a hotel, and then heading off straight away the next morning. He was thankful for the chance to sleep in a bed, they'd been travelling for just under two days solid, and all three of them were exhausted.

Blaine opened the door, the small bell hung above it ringing as he did so, and stepped in. He noted that the room was empty, and spied a small mallet on the counter, probably to use to call somebody.

The room was faded, the dulling sunlight seeping in from the corner of the rectangular window where the pinned up sheet had fallen down. He could see specks of dust reflecting the light and dancing around the room. The faded blue rug on the wooden floor was old and well-used, and Blaine could see ingrained shoe prints scattered haphazardly and messily.

The counter on which he supposed the boss handed out work forms was scratched and old, and the entire room looked as though it hadn't been cleaned in a while, though he supposed that it probably hadn't.

His moment of consideration was interrupted as Wes and David stumbled through the door loudly, slamming it shut with an echoing _thud_.

Blaine's head shot around to glare, but was interrupted by a voice ringing out from behind the door next to the counter.

"What on earth was that? Who are you?"

A pale dark-haired man appeared from behind the door. He was quite tall, and his hair was gelled into submission, '_why didn't I think of that?_' His face was slightly pinched, but suited him. Blaine couldn't say he was unattractive, but certainly not his type. He was wearing dark, faded denim cover-alls with a word embroidered on the chest. Blaine craned his neck. _Thad. _It must be his name.

He opened his mouth to answer, but Wes stepped forward and reached out his hand, his olive skin and Asian complexion contrasting greatly to Thad's pale skin, which seemed to have not met the sun in a while. Blaine wondered how much time he spent indoors to stay so pale in the Californian weather.

"I'm Wesley Montgomery, and my travelling partners, Blaine Anderson," he gestured to Blaine, who nodded in Thad's direction, and then to David who smiled gently and waved, "and David Thompson. We're here to pick up any job offers after completing our two month assignment on the Dempsey Ranch in Carmel."

Thad looked all three men up and down for a moment, before nodding to himself, and pulling out some papers.

"Okay." He frowned, "you ain't expected until tomorrow, how'd you get here so fast?"

Blaine stepped forward, "We took a shortcut, right through Monterey. It made the trip almost half the time, see," he pointed to Monterey on the map in the pile of papers, "instead of going to Modesto, that's much further."

Thad nodded, a grin forming on his face.

"That's a good idea; most people don't think about times, they just turn up whenever they feel like it. I like that you thought it through, and I imagine your employer would do, too."

He disappeared below his desk for a moment, before pulling out another sheet of paper.

"This offer wasn't meant for you, but the guys who was meant to be taking it never turned up," That met Blaine's eyes, "they were required three days ago, my pal Andrew caught 'em bumming it in a cat house a few miles out of town." He handed the sheet to David, who'd moved forward to the desk.

"It's worth a lot more than any of your offers, but they were wanting three hands, and you guys seem nicer than those other bums."

David choked out a gasp, handing the sheet to Blaine.

_Job description: a permanent working position on Hummel's Ranch. You will be working as farm hands on the ranch, taking in crops and working in the sun, and in the winter, cleaning the houses' rooms. You will work 10 hours each day for 5 days a week with a salary of $1 an hour totalling $50 a week per employee._

Blaine's eyes widened and Wes also choked as he read it over his shoulder.

As Wes and David recovered, Blaine spoke.

"This ain't no wind up is it? Coz we ain't…"

"It ain't a wind up. I was shocked when the offer came in, but Mr Hummel is a good friend of mine, he ain't one to joke. He's a good man, he don't have many workers but he gets along just fine. If you read on you'll see you be living in your own bungalow, too. Mr Hummel's a rich man, and he treats his guys right. You'd be mental to turn this offer down."

"We would." Blaine gulped, one phrase swimming in his mind. _Permanent working position… Permanent position… Permanent…_

"We'll take it! Of course we'll take it!" Wes yelped from behind him, leaping forward and pushing Blaine aside, grabbing a pencil from the desk and leaning to sign on the dotted line. Blaine gulped, licking his suddenly dry lips. David followed Wes, signing his own name, before turning and offering the pen to Blaine.

Blaine eyed it warily, his hand staying firmly by his side. Wes stepped forward.

"C'mon Blaine, you'll never see an opportunity like this again." David followed,

"$50 a week, Blaine, you'd only have to stay a month or two and you could buy your own patch of land, please…"

Blaine sighed, and met their pleading eyes, biting his lip… And then he stepped forward, letting out a shuddering breath.

"O-Okay. Okay, I'll do it."

And then he signed his name. And it was too late to turn back.

Thad grinned widely, before handing all three their work cards, filling in the information quickly.

"The ranch ain't far from here; it's in a little town named Lima, next to Oakland. It's right on the western coast, you can't miss it. Just walk west from here until you hit the coast, then follow it up and round. I'll probably see you again, so I ain't gonna say bye, coz I visit the ranch quite a lot, I'm pretty good friends with the boss' step-son; he's about our age."

"The boss has a son?" Wes asked.

"Two actually, he has a son and a step-son. He's real protective of his son, so I'd be pretty careful round him, but Burt – that's the boss; he's a real good guy. You'll get along pretty well I'd guess."

And with that, Wes, David and Blaine said their 'see you later's' and headed out, ready to find a hotel to rest in for the night.

"I've got a pretty good feeling about this!" David grinned.

"Of course you do! Have you _seen _our wages?" Wes laughed.

Blaine decided that their excitement was contagious, and felt himself laughing along with them.

It was a good offer after all, and if he didn't like it, they could quit and leave just like they usually do.

But for some reason, Blaine had a feeling that maybe, for the first time, he might just want to stay there.


	3. Author's Note

Author's Note

Hey guys.

This isn't a chapter – sorry :( I just thought I'd tell you that I've made a few small changes in the first chapter.

Probably nothing noticeable, but I noticed inconsistencies in the travelling, and I'm a meticulous planner, so I planned their trip to the recruitment centre and how they got there down to each minute, because I'm weird that way.

Anyway, nothing important, also, I've posted the second chapter, yay :) And I really hope you enjoy it, thank you 3 This AN will be deleted eventually, but I just thought I'd post it for now to keep you up to date.

Anyway, I'm in my six week holidays now, so I'm planning on trying to really get on with this, seeing as though I haven't really posted anything.

Thanks for sticking around :)

Warbler Klaine


	4. Chapter 2: Welcome to Hummel Ranch

Chapter Two – Welcome to Hummel Ranch

**The Summary:**

**Blaine Anderson is a travelling ranch hand. Abandoned by his parents as a teenager, he's spent a lot of time alone. Along with his best (and only) friends Wes and David, he travels around Western America in search of any form of temporary work, usually on ranches or farms. However, Blaine always finds some excuse to pack up, leave and move on to his next job but secretly, all he wants is to settle down somewhere and stay put with his friends, and hopefully, one day, a boyfriend. That's just how he works, its how he's always worked. But, when Blaine gets a job at Hummel's Ranch he finds himself happy and, for the first time, wanting to stay around for a while… and then he meets his friendly new boss, Burt Hummel's, son Kurt. **

Disclaimer – I do not own any of the characters or anything in this story apart from the storyline, and even that's partially based on 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck. Anyway, I don't own Glee, or Klaine, or even CrissColfer or 'Of Mice and Men'… Basically, I own nothing. I mean no harm to any of the books and shows creators, producers etc etc, by writing this, this is just (for me) recreational only. Oh, and by the way, some characters re OOC, I forgot to warn you last time :) Oh, and also, any grammar mistakes or spelling mistakes (that look intentional) are meant to be colloquial. Just thought I'd warn you, so you don't think I'm illiterate or something :) xx

Also, I have put the pictures on which I based the main manor house, which I describe, on my profile. The house hallway interior is based on the interior of Candy Spelling's old $85 million mansion. The exterior of the house is based on those cute pale yellow and baby blue houses you see on TV shows and films (which I think are adorable.) It's meant to contrast, (which I hope it does haha), but you'll read all about that later.

Long intro is long… Anyway, here we go with chapter two :)

* * *

It had only taken about eight hours to walk to Oakland.

After waking up from their first good night's sleep in weeks and tipping the kind hotel staff for being so gracious, they had set off, following Thad's instructions, and just like he had told them, the ranch was near-impossible to miss.

If they had been shocked before, when they'd got the offer, then it was nothing compared to what they had felt when they first saw it.

The ranch was massive! All Blaine could see for miles was field upon field upon field. And from what Thad had told them, Mr. Hummel didn't have very many employees, so how the hell did he manage all that land?

They began to walk down the long drive, towards a large manor house at the very end. It was picturesque, it stood tall and proud, with ivy leaves and flowers spanning up the pale yellow-coloured walls, and a wooden double-door and window shutters which were painted baby blue. There was a white picket fence around the outside of a large-ish garden which was adorned with bountiful amounts of flowers, of every colour, shape and size.

It looked like a family home, like something straight out of an old fairy-tale book. Blaine had to admit, it was beautiful.

"Hey! Hey!"

Blaine jumped as he was snapped out of his daydreams, and he, Wes and David spun around on the spot. A boy was running down the drive after them. He was tall-really tall, and had short chestnut brown hair. He was wearing a chequered shirt, and worn denim jeans. The boy stopped running for a moment and leaned over, panting, before completing the distance between them at a slow jog.

"Hi! I'm Finn!" he said enthusiastically, wiping a large hand on his jeans before holding it out.

Once again, Wes was the first to step forward, shaking the boy's hand.

"I'm Wes Montgomery. It's a pleasure to meet you." The boy – Finn, grinned wildly, before looking towards the other two men stood before him.

David stepped forward next, "I'm David Thompson. May I ask? Who exactly are you?" The boy's grin wavered, "Uh…"

Blaine spoke up, "What David means is do you work here? And if you do, what position do you work in? And I'm Blaine Anderson. It's nice to meet you, Finn." Finn's grin returned to full force.

"Oh, I get you. I'm Burt's step-son. He's the boss here. I don't really have a job, but I help out a lot." David and Blaine nodded in understanding.

"Oh, great! Do you mind showing us where to go then? I mean, we're a little bit lost." Wes asked, stepping back and brushing down his shirt. Finn furrowed his eyebrows.

"Who are you though? Don't you work here? I'm not sure Burt would like strangers walking around."

"Oh, no, no, we're the new employees. Here, we have our work cards." David clarified, pulling out his card. Blaine and Wes followed suit and showed Finn theirs. This placated the boy, and he motioned for them to follow him, heading towards the gorgeous manor house at the end of the drive.

They walked through the double doors, and into a lavish hallway. The floors were polished white marble; the walls were detailed, carved panels with shiny wallpaper decorating the plain patches. It was a very tall room, and two separate staircases, one at each side, led up to a second floor. The banisters were made from shiny black metal, topped with a shiny gold metal and there was a very extravagant glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The house, which looked so warm and homely from the outside, was the complete opposite inside. It was decorated as though it was a summer home for a royal family.

Finn must have seen the shock on the three men's faces, as he commented,

"Not all of our houses are like this. Burt let Kurt run wild with his wallet for this one, and Kurt's kind of infamous for going over the top. He said something about a juxty… a juxto… Oh, I don't know. He wanted it to look different than it does outside."

"Well he certainly managed that." Wes murmured, still marvelling at the overwhelming room, "who's Kurt again?"

"He's my brother… Well, he's my step-brother… He's Burt's real son. He's really cool. He can be a little overbearing and a lot over the top… As you can see, but he's got a heart of gold." Finn's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he spun around like a shot.

"None of you are homophobic are you?" The three men were shocked at the sudden, random question, but quickly reassured him that no, they weren't at all. Blaine held his tongue, deciding not to tell him that he, himself, was gay just yet. Finn's grin returned, and he continued leading them through the grandiose hallway.

Soon they reached a large, shining, marble desk, behind which sat a young woman, wearing bright, pink tones, with her dirty blonde hair tied in two ponytails on either side of her head with lengths of pink, lacy ribbon. She wasn't paying attention to them, until Finn introduced her as Sugar Motta.

Sugar looked up as Finn introduced Blaine, Wes and David, and her chocolate brown eyes widened, and her heavily-made-up lips broke into a wide grin.

"Well hi there boys!" she giggled in a high-pitched voice. Blaine detected some sort of accent as she began to gush, "what a mighty fine pleasure it is to meet you! Y'all must be new here, I know I'd remember you" she fluttered her eyelashes and pouted, laying her flirtation on thick. Blaine hid his grimace.

She stood up from behind her marble desk and reached out a dainty hand for them to shake. They took turns shaking, and each noticed that she held on for a little longer than was necessary.

"Uh, Sugar, they're those new employees which Burt hired. Do ya know where he is?" Finn asked. The girl pouted, before turning and looking at the time.

"I think he should be in his office by now, he usually is at this time. But hey, you boys come back here to see me sometime. I get awful lonely, see." She addressed the trio, fluttering her eyelashes again, and arching her back towards them. Finn turned abruptly and began to lead them somewhere else, and they followed, sparing the girl a farewell wave as they went. It was returned over-enthusiastically.

"I really don't like that girl." Finn whispered as they walked towards the stairs.

The boys scuttled after Finn as he jogged up the long staircase on the left. He carried on through an archway and into a long hallway, with vivid red carpets and a red and cream runner rug which ran the entire length of the hall. Eventually they reached the end. They stood outside of a tall, shiny dark-wooden door. It was plain, apart from a polished gold plate with the words Burt Hummel engraved in the centre. They paused for a moment, not sure what to do, until Finn spoke up.

"Well… Um, here you go. I don't think you need me anymore. I'm, um, I'm gonna go now. I guess I'll see you around?" The trio, suddenly more nervous, nodded in the affirmative and watched the tall boy leave, before turning back to the door nervously.

"I know that Thad said this guy was nice, but right now I ain't too sure." David gulped, watching the door anxiously.

"Don't be ridiculous. He's only a man; we shouldn't be scared of him, especially since he's our boss, too." Wes countered, stepping forward and reaching for a door, unable to hide the quaver in his voice. He rested his hand on the door for a moment.

"Y'all think I can't hear you out there? Come on in boys." a voice from inside called out, breaking the uncomfortable silence. The three men froze, shooting panicked glances to each other, before each taking a deep breath, and stepping inside.

* * *

This room was nowhere near as extravagant as the rest of the manor. The walls were dark wood panel and the floor was covered in a large, red rug. There were a couple of worn looking bookcases against each wall, with a few books, and a lot of paperwork and hundreds of framed pictures of two different women, Finn and another boy, who they assumed must be Kurt, though the pictures were faded and unclear. In the centre of the room, in front of a massive window adorned with thick red curtains, was a wooden desk the same colour as the walls. They saw more paperwork, and a small pile of books, and the backs of more picture frames scattered along the desk-top.

And then they saw Burt.

Burt was sat tall, but nothing at all like they had expected him to be. He had warm eyes and a comforting grin, instead of a cold, sharp face. He wore a cap on his hairless head, instead of a luscious head of hair and he was wearing old, well-used work overalls instead of a pristine suit.

"You must be those boys that Thad was talkin' about. 'Lotta good things he had to say about you, I'm sure you'll be glad to hear." Burt sat forward, and pulled three sheets of paper from under the pile of books.

"I know y'all already signed a paper, but I need another to save away. Here ya go. Then I'll show you to your home. Lovely place, Dalton cottage, probably one of my favourite of my cottages…" he babbled as he handed out the forms. Each man signed their name on the dotted line; Blaine did so a little more confidently this time.

"Good, good, that's all really. I'm Burt Hummel, and I own this ranch, you're Wes, David and… Blaine, was it?" Blaine nodded, feeling a lot more comfortable.

"Well, welcome to Hummel Ranch, I hope you'll find a happy home here!" he grinned, before pausing for a moment and continuing, "anyway, no time like the present. Any of you guys got any questions?" Burt asked, getting up and smoothing down his overalls, before walking across the room.

"Um, indeed I do, I wanted to ask, when will we start working? And will we be staying with any of your other employees in the cottage?" Wes asked, following the older man through the door.

"Nope, didn't Thad tell you? Every employee or, in your case, group of employees gets their own bungalow, cottage or small house. We have more than enough to go around. And… it's Friday today right? Yeah, you'll start on Monday." The boys gaped at each other.

"Monday, sir? Th-that's two and a half days of work you're missing out on." Burt chuckled.

"That don't worry me. And you'll be getting paid. But you need to get used to your new homes, meet everybody else. That'll take a little while. Just spend this weekend to relax, and you can start next week, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed."

The boys turned this over in their head as they walked, leaving the manor and following a thin paved road through a patch of trees. This man was more than generous, surely there was a catch? There had to be! They rounded a corner, as Burt continued talking about something that Blaine wasn't paying attention to. His mind was running a thousand miles a minute, until he saw the cottage before him.

"Oh wow!" he breathed, as it fully came into sight.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) Lol, Finn with his little juxty-juxto (juxtaposition) because I can totally imagine Kurt confusing him with long, confusing words :) Little bit of a cliff-hanger there, but not much :) Next chapter we'll see their little cottage, we'll meet Carole and some of the fellow workers and the trio will begin to settle in their new home. I should post soon, but as I've said above, don't hold me to it 3 Thanks for waiting so long for this chapter :) I won't make you wait as long for the next xx Thank you again :) -WarblerKlaine xx  
**


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